Caring for the critically unwell is an important and difficult task. So preparing our people to meet this challenge should be all about excellence.

Too often, the structures and pressures that define medical training focus on competence rather than excellence. Competence is measurable. It can logged, assessed, and can be applied to across big organisations. But aspiring only to competence limits us - our patients need more. So can we learn from how other high-performance organisations train?

For Olympic teams, aiming for competence just isn’t good enough. These organisations develop their athletes over many years - equipping them, ready to deliver an excellent performance under pressure.

Successful coaching relationships operate on an individual level. They are long-term. They are flexible. And they are measured not by exams or assessments, but by whether the person being coached can perform in the real world.

Should you be thinking about being a coach rather than a trainer? And how can we move our focus from competence to excellence?

This talk will explore three aspects of high-performance coaching which have relevance for clinical educators: ⁃ Goal setting and commitment ⁃ The value and limitations of marginal gains theory ⁃ Self-compassion as a tool for achieving excellence.